Contrary to popular belief she was not from Calcutta or India at all. Actually she was born Gonxha Agnes on August 26, 1910 in Skopje (present day Macedonia) to Albanian parentage. In 1928 at just 18 years of age, she left home for Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto and it was there that she received the name Sister Mary Teresa after the St. Therese of Lisieux. The following year she left for Calcutta, India to teach at St. Mary’s school for girls eventually going on to become the principal in 1944.
It was in 1946 that she received her calling to serve the “the unwanted, the unloved, and the uncared for” and in 1948 she was finally granted permission to establish the Missionaries of Charity, a religious community dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. She later opened chapters for the poor across the globe by her death on September 5, 1997 her numbers included some 4,000 Sisters established in 610 foundatations across 123 countries of the world. Her tomb is located in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta.
She was granted the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and on on October 19, 2003 she was beautified posthumously for Sainthood by Pope John Paul II at St. Peter’s in Rome amidst several hundred thousand onlookers.
Europe Travel Deals
